A Plate of Rice
by Dixxy Mouri
Summary: Sanji x Nami. Pre-series. Five years before meeting Monkey D. Luffy, Nami runs out of food on her way to rob a pirate restaurant.


A Plate of Rice  
By Dixxy Mouri

Nami had heard about the pirate restaurant a few weeks ago. It was run by a former pirate – Red Leg Zeff, who had survived the Grand Line but lost his infamous leg in some kind of accident – and was filled with an unruly clientele that fought with the cooks and made the entire place a spectacle to behold.

Naturally a pit like that sounded like the perfect place to hit.

It had taken a while for her to find the place, though – she was a good navigator, but her little boat didn't go very fast and there wasn't a lot of wind. She ran out of food about a day or two earlier, so she was probably going to have to grab something to eat as well. By the time she arrived her stomach was angry and her concentration was non-existent.

That was probably why it took all of five minutes for a man with large arms and a big face to kick her out. "Don't you EVER try to steal from our restaurant again, you lousy brat! This is the Baratie, you damn crook!" He had picked her up by the back of her shirt before she'd even gotten close to the safe and carried her through the kitchen, berating her the entire time.

It was kind of embarrassing. She wanted to start crying.

"AND STAY OUT!" he bellowed, throwing her out onto the deck. She cried when she hit the deck, hungry and tired and frustrated that this job had gone badly. She looked at the closed door, trying to fight back the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. They were pirates! Mean, nasty pirates who probably had a lot of money they were going to waste on booze or something when she could use it to buy back her village and save everyone from Arlong!

"I'm sorry Patty kicked you out – you must be really hungry," said a cracking voice behind her.

Nami turned her head to see a boy a little older than her in an oversized cook's uniform standing behind her with a glass of milk and a plate of fried rice. He sat down, pushing it over to her with a smile on his pimply face. "Patty kicks a lot of hungry people out but it's wrong to let people starve, even if they don't have any money. You look hungry – eat up!"

Nami looked down at the plate and her stomach grumbled. She turned around to face the boy, unsure if she was willing to trust him or the food. He was still looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to dig in. "Come on – it's really good! I made it myself. The stupid old man won't admit it but it's the best I've ever made!"

"You made this?" she said.

"Yeah! Come on, eat it! Starving yourself is stupid," he said.

"I'm not stupid – how do I know this isn't poisoned?" she said.

The boy laughed. "If we poisoned the food we wouldn't have any customers left, would we?" But, sensing her hesitation, he grabbed the fork, stirred the fried rice around, and then ate a mouthful. He washed it down with a drink of milk. "See? I'm okay!"

"Now your germs are all over it."

"I don't have any germs!"

Nami's stomach grumbled. Screw it. She took the fork and started to eat. She paused after the first bite. It tasted AMAZING! Maybe it was because she was hungry, or maybe it was because this poor victim of puberty was actually a good cook, but it was delicious! "This is really good!" she said, starting to shovel the food into her mouth.

"Hey, slow down a little – you'll choke if you aren't careful!"

Nami shook her head, washing down the rice with the milk. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Thank you! That was great!" she said. "I haven't eaten in a couple of days! I was starving!" She sat back up again and grinned. "So you gave that to me for free, right?"

The boy chewed on his bottom lip. "Yeah."

Nami grinned. She liked getting things for free. The less she had to pay for, the more money she had to bury in the tangerine grove to buy back the village. "So, why were you so nice to me when that Patty guy was so mean?" she asked around another mouthful. She was hungry – she didn't care if it was rude or whatever to talk with your mouthful.

"Because making people starve is wrong," said the boy, looking out at the water. He had a faraway, distant look in his one visible eye. Much to her surprise he reached into his apron pocket, producing a pack of cigarettes and a pack of matches. Nami wordlessly continued to eat as he stuck one of the white sticks in his mouth and lit it. "It doesn't matter if you have a billion berries or no berries – everyone has the right to a full stomach."

Nami finished the rice and pushed the empty plate away – not a grain of rice was left. She sighed. Normally, this was where she would partake in step two of the Dine and Dash method of eating out, but she frowned when she looked at the boy sitting there with his cigarette. Nami pushed the plate aside and crawled to sit next to him.

They sat there in silence for a few moments.

Nami finally stood up and started walking towards her boat. The boy stood and walked beside her. "Need help getting into your boat?" He jumped down into the boat and offered her a hand to help her in. Nami blinked at him in surprise, but took his hand and accepted the assistance into her boat. He jumped back onto the deck, squatting and snuffing out his cigarette. "All set?"

Nami nodded, stepping forward. "Thank you again!" she said. Then, getting a smart idea, she leaned in and gently kissed him on the lips. She opened her eyes when he pulled away, staring at her in wide eyed shock. The thief laughed, cutting off the rope tying her to the Baratie and waving good-bye. "Bye, bye!"

* * *

Sanji watched the mysterious orange haired girl sail off, dumbly waving as he watched her and her boat get tinier and tinier as it neared the horizon line. He'd understood why Patty had kicked her out – she'd tried to rob the Baratie, which was an understandable reason to be upset. But she was still hungry and, thief or no thief, he had to make sure she was fed.

The young cook blushed. She hadn't stolen any of their money, but she had stolen his first kiss.

* * *

Author's Notes

OH YOU NEED FLUFF, FLUFF, FLUFF, TO MAKE A FLUFFERNUTTER!

Hmm. . . fluffernutter . . .

When I wrote this for 30 Pieces, I had put Sanji at 14 and Nami at 13, so this is roughly five years before the start of the series.

Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review 3

Dixxy


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